Chusetts



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. M. SHERMAN. I

VAPORIZER.

No. 436,063. Patented Sept. 9,1890.

9 95 whom tug (No Model.) v 2 ShetsSheet 2. G. M. SHERMAN. VAPORIZER.

Patented Sept. 9, 1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GARDNER M. SHERMAN, OF SPRINGFIELD, ASSIGNOR TO THE LAMB KNITTINGMACHINE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHIGOPEE FALLS, MASSA- CHUSETTS. n

VAPORIZER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 436,063, datedSeptember 9, 1890.

Application filed October 4, 1889. Serial No. 325,989. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GARDNER M. SHERMAN, of Springfield, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Vaporizers, of which the following is aspecifioation,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formingpart thereof.

My invention relates to apparatus for securing the vaporization ofliquids for disinfect-ing or deodorizing purposes.

In Letters Patent of the United States issued to me July 29, 1887, andnumbered 366,693, I have' shown, described, and claimed an apparatus ofthis nature comprising avessel having openings at the top and near thebottom thereof, with] means for closing said open ngs to any desiredextent, and a receptacle for the liquid, formed from porous materlal,located within said vessel in such manner that an annular spacesurrounding the receptacle 1s provided,whereby the liquid whichpercolates through the porous body of the receptacle can be caused toevaporate freely and, when the vessel is open, to escape to thesurrounding atmosphere. It is of the utmost importance in this class ofapparatus that as large an area of the surface of the liquid as possiblebe exposed to the air to facilitate evaporation thereof, and,while theporous receptacle in my said previous apparatus thus exposes a verylarge area of said surface, I have found that a still greater area ofthe surface of the liquid can be directly exposed to the action of theair, while the possible clogging of the pores of a porous receptaclewith long-continued use can be avoided.

It is the object of my present invention, therefore, to provide avaporizing apparatus 1n which a very extended area of the liquid will bedirectly exposed to the air,with means for accurately regulating theadmission of air thereto and its escape therefrom, as distinguished fromwhat may be called an indirect exposure of the liquid through the poresof a porous receptacle.

. To this end my invention consists in the vaporizing apparatuscomprising a vessel having means for admitting air thereto at or nearthe bottom thereof and for permitting air to escape therefrom at or nearthe top thereof,

and a series of receptacles for liquid located within said vessel, ashereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are designated by likeletters in the several figures, Figure l is a central vertical sectionof a vaporizer constructed according to my invention. of with the top orcover removed. Fig. 3 is a partial side elevation showing the air-portat the bottom of the same. Fig. 4 is a view of the inner side of thevalve for closing said air-port. Fig. 5 is a vertical central section ofa modified form of the apparatus. Fig. 6 is a front elevation thereofwith the closing means removed. Fig. 7 is a view in perspective of theclosing means. Fig. 8 is a plan view of the apparatus with the clos ngmeans removed, as in Fig. 6.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4., inclusive, the letter A designates acylindrical vessel, which will preferably be made of iron or other metalto increase its durability and to lessen its liability to be upset whenin use. Said vessel is made with a tight bottom, and at the top isprovided with a cover having means whereby an opening of any desiredextent can be formed into said vessel. I prefer to utilize substantiallythe same means for this purpose that are shown in my said previouspatent, the same consisting of a cover A, having depending therefrom athreaded stem Cb, located centrally in said cover, which stem enters athreaded hole a, centrally located in a bridgepiece a extendingdiametrically across a rim a which rim closely fits the upper end of thevessel A. The rim is thus adapted to be removed from the vessel whendesired, together with the bridge-piece and cover while by revolving thecover in one direction it will be caused to descend upon the rim and tomake a tight joint therewith, and by turning it in the oppositedirection it can be elevated above the rim to any desired extent,thereby accurately governing the size of the opening at the top of thevessel.

Fig. 2 is a plan'view there- Thumb-pieces a upon the cover enable it t rupper end and having a hole therein, by

means of which the vessel can be suspended from a nail or hook, ifdesired.

The means for holding the liquid within said vessel preferably consistsof a series of open receptacles located at different heights within thelatter and having an ELlT-Oil'CLllfll'r ing space both around andbetween said receptacles.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 52, said receptacles consist of circular pans ortrays having outwardly-flaring sides supported upon a tube 1), whichextends centrally through the bottom of each receptacle, its upper endbeing substantially flush with the upper edge of the upper receptacle.The greatest diameter of thereceptacles Z) is sufficiently less thanthat of vessel A to form an annular air-space surrounding the former, asshown, while the depth of said receptacles is such as to leave an openspace between the bottom of each one and the level of the liquid in theone beneath it.

As a means of retaining the series of receptacles at the center of thevessel, I prefer to utilize stem a of cover A of the latter and aprojection e centrally located upon the bottom of the vessel, which stemand projection enter opposite ends of tube 1); but it will be understoodthat other means for securing this result can be utilized, if desired.

The vaporizer thus constructed can be readily charged for use byremoving rim a with the cover A, from the top of the vessel,.withdrawingfrom the latter the series of receptacles, pouring into the latter thedesired quantity of liquid, taking care that the level of said liquid inany receptacle does not lie above the level of the bottom of thereceptacle above it, and then restoring said parts to their normalpositions. XV hen the vaporizer is thus charged, it can be set upon thefloor or suspended from the wall of the room in which it is to be used,and by opening air-' port a and raising cover A a circulation of air.upwardly through vesselA will be caused. The extended area of thesurface of the liquid which is exposed to the air by the receptacles hsecures a very rapid evaporation of the liquid, said area beingmaterially increased by the flaring sides of the receptacles. If but aslight discharge of the vapor into the surrounding atmosphere isdesired, port a is left closed and the cover is raised but slightly.

By the use of the series of receptacles b, I not only secure a greaterarea of exposed surface of the liquid than would be possible with asingle porous receptacle of a corresponding height and diameter, but Ialso avoid the possibility of a loss of power to the apparatus throughthe clogging of the pores of such a receptacle. It will be obvious,however, that by making the receptacles b from porous material the powerof the apparatus herein shown could itself be considerably increased,and I contemplate employing such construction in cases where a vaporizerof extreme power is desired.

In Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, Ihave shown amodified form of the invention,in which the letter C designates a vessel which is rectangular incross-sectioninsteadof round. Ipreferto make the bottom, rear side, andthe two ends of said vessel integral with each other and to make the topand front side integral with each other in the form of a closing device0'. A bar 0 extends from one end-piece to the other at the front side ofthe vessel and midwaybetween the top and bottom thereof, said bar havingat the center thereof the enlargement c and outwardly-projecting studc", which stud is threaded at its outer end to receive a thumb-nut 0 Thefront side piece forming part of the closing device is provided with aslot c, through which projects the stud c and by means of which saidclosing device can be adjusted vertically, it being held in any positionto which it may be adjusted vertically by said nut 0 A finger-piece c011 said front side piece enables the latter to be raised and loweredreadily. By raising said closing device, as shown in Fig. 5, openingsare formed both at the top and bottom of the vessel 0 to permit air tocirculate through said vessel, the size of whichopenings canobviously beregulated by raising said device more or less.

Upon the inner side of each of the end pieces of the vessel are locatedcleats c for sup, porting the ends of a series of receptacles for theliquid, said cleats being preferably made in the form of bent bars orrods, as shown, whereby provision is made for an upward circulation ofair at the ends of the receptacles O Said receptacles consist ofrectangular pans or trays having flaring sides and ends and are of suchwidth as to leave an airspace bctween their sides and the sides of thevessel, as shown in Fig. 5..

The operation of this form of the apparatus is the same as thatpreviously described, and

the great extent of the surface of the liquid cast in a single piece bycausing the bottom and the cleats a to stand at a slightly-obtuse angleto the rear side to enable the vessel to be drawn from the mold, as willbe obvious to persons skilled in the art.

Any of the disinfectingor deodorizin g liq uids usually employed can beused in com nection with the apparatus herein shown and described.

The size of the vessel and the number of receptacles for liquid can bevaried at Will to correspond to the use for which the particularapparatus is intended.

It is obvious that the receptacles in the form first described could besupported upon cleats, as in the second form; but I prefer to utilizethe tube Z), as it enables the entire series of receptacles to beremoved from and replaced in the vessel A together, and also retainsthem in vertical alignment.

Modifications in construction other than those suggested herein can bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The vaporizer herein described, comprising an inclosing-vessel havingan air-inlet opening at or near the bottom thereof and an air-outletopening at or near the top thereof, valves for governing said openings,and a series of receptacles for a disinfecting-liquid, supported withinsaid vessel at different heights, said receptacles being of suchdimensions that an air-passage between the sides thereof and the innersurface of the inclosingvessel is formed, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In a vaporizer, the combination, with an inclos ing-vessel havingopenings at or near the top and bottom thereof and valves for closingsaid openings, of a series of receptacles for liquid, located Withinsaid vessel, said receptacles being arranged one above the other andsecured to a common support, substantially as set forth.

3. In a vaporizer, an inclosing-vessel having openings at or near thetop and bottom thereof and valves for closing said openings and havingupon the inner side of the bottom thereof a centrally-locatedprojection, and a series of open receptacles for liquid, mounted upon asupport extending centrally through the bottom of each, said supporthaving its lower end constructed to receive said projection at thebottom of said vessel, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4. In a vaporizer, the combination, with vessel A, having rim adetachably secured thereto, said rim carrying the bridge-piece a havingthe threaded hole a at the center thereof, of cover A, having threadedstem at, and tube b, carrying the series of open receptacles 17,arranged and operating substantially as described.

GARDNER M. SHERMAN. WVitnesses:

H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN.

